Why did a gifted writer like Sylvia Plath stumble into a marriage that drove her to suicide? Why did Hilda Doolittle want to marry Ezra Pound when she was attracted to women? And why did Simone de Beauvoir find girlfriends for Jean-Paul Sartre? Scottish novelist and literary journalist Lesley McDowell considers nine famous literary liaisons of the 20th century, examining the extent to which each woman was prepared to put artistic ambition before personal happiness, and how dependent on their male writing partners they felt themselves to be. McDowell probes the consequences of the women's codependence and reveals how in many instances, their partnerships liberated unspoken desires, encouraged artistic innovations, and even shored up literary reputations.

"Between the Sheets explores the messy intersection on art, lust, fame, and power. McDowell mines letters and diaries to give us rare insight into the POV of the female halves of some very celebrated literary couples—suddenly, these feminist-lit figures seem more real and more grand. We feel the love and heartache that drove them to write."—Bust Magazine